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Purvis

Ghost town · St. Landry County, Louisiana

Palmetto quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1959, 1:62,500)
Palmetto quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1959, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Purvis is a ghost town in St. Landry County, Louisiana. It is one of 10 former communities in St. Landry County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 15th among the 54 Louisiana counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Purvis as a historical populated place on the Swayze Lake topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 30.6652° N, 91.7826° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleSwayze Lake
Elevation25 ft
Nearest living townMelville, LA
Distance to it2.7 miles
GNIS feature ID1628742
Coordinates30.66519, -91.78262

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Purvis is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Melville, LA (population 684), about 2.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 25 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Purvis?

Purvis is in St. Landry County, Louisiana, at 30.6652, -91.7826.

How many ghost towns are in St. Landry County?

St. Landry County, Louisiana has 10 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.